An opportunity for a series whitewash.
The big question is whether Zimbabwe stick with the winning side or use the dead rubber to give a few other players an opportunity.
Craig Ervine has struggled for runs, so perhaps Ryan Burl deserves a go. Clive Madande has been tidy behind the stumps, but cannot seem to buy a run at the moment. Could Tadiwanashe Marumani come in and take the gloves?
Newman Nyamhuri also appeared to pick up a knock during the second ODI. Perhaps Masuku comes in?
I would also like Zimbabwe to bowl first for a change. The conditions have been fairly consistent so far, and it would be useful to see how this batting line-up handles a chase.
My XI
1. Ben Curran
2. Brian Bennett
3. Innocent Kaia
4. Wessly Madhevere
5. Sikandar Raza
6. Ryan Burl
7. Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk)
8. Brad Evans
9. Richard Ngarava (c)
10. Ernest Masuku
11. Blessing Muzarabani
Madhevere has to bat higher. He has the ability, but I would like to see him take a little more responsibility and build an innings.
Marumani at seven may also be too low, although the batting order could remain flexible depending on the match situation.
Match Thread
Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh
3rd ODI · Harare Sports Club
Status
MATCH OVER
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Wes can't seem to go past 75 in ODIs
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Quoted from Andy31 in post #45870
Unfortunately for Clive his been done a dirty by the selectors, can’t be picked when out of form and then expect to produce results.
Clive needs to go back to domestic cricket and score heavily.
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If Evans gets a 50 we could get close to 220.
Without Blessing and Richie, defending a low total might be difficult though.
Without Blessing and Richie, defending a low total might be difficult though.
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200 is the target, well played Wes and Brad there is hope still for the Chevrons
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Edited
Quoted from EmergingCric in post #45859
So the designated Vice Captain is not the stand-in captain when the Permanent Captain misses out. Maybe they don't want to burden Bennett with captaincy yet but this would have been a good game to captain: dead rubber, rotated squad, fan support after series win.
Agreed.
I don't get the whole argument of "burdening" someone with the captaincy. He's second in command and should assume control when the skipper is not available. If they don't believe he can do the job then they should pick a different vice captain.
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Edited
Apologies for the outage
Some stuff went horribly wrong and the forum went down for a bit. Thankfully everything has been fixed (hopefully).
We were losing the match anyway. Winning matches without Blessing and Richie is always going to be difficult.
Some stuff went horribly wrong and the forum went down for a bit. Thankfully everything has been fixed (hopefully).
We were losing the match anyway. Winning matches without Blessing and Richie is always going to be difficult.
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Quoted from EmergingCric in post #45859
So the designated Vice Captain is not the stand-in captain when the Permanent Captain misses out. Maybe they don't want to burden Bennett with captaincy yet but this would have been a good game to captain: dead rubber, rotated squad, fan support after series win.
I was expecting some changes in the batters as well, this is a little underwhelming. Clive Mandande I understand he is really tidy behind the stumps, especially his footwork but I really don't see him scoring any runs, this should have been the game to test Marumani at 6/. This could be one of most important innings for Craig Ervine,he won't be instantly dropped but the pressure will continue to build on him and with Matthew Campbell consistent performances for A side and Naqvi gaining eligiblity he might miss out on the WC.
Bennett is not the vice captain. Raza was appointed as the vice captain by ZC yesterday.
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Quoted from Marshmallow in post #45883
Bennett is not the vice captain. Raza was appointed as the vice captain by ZC yesterday.
I had missed this one. Article here
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has confirmed the captaincy appointments for the senior men’s and women’s national teams, with Richard Ngarava entrusted with the Test and One-Day International leadership, Sikandar Raza retained as T20 International captain and Josephine Nkomo appointed captain of the Zimbabwe Women’s team.
The Board also confirmed the vice-captains across the men’s formats, with Brian Bennett appointed Test vice-captain, Raza named ODI vice-captain and Ngarava serving as T20I vice-captain.
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Quoted from admin in post #45882
Apologies for the outage
Some stuff went horribly wrong and the forum went down for a bit. Thankfully everything has been fixed (hopefully).
We were losing the match anyway. Winning matches without Blessing and Richie is always going to be difficult.
It still seems to take a long time for the forum to load, at least for me. I was getting concerned we were going to need a revival of the revival!
My All-time Zimbabwe XI
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
Neil Johnson, Brendan Taylor, Murray Goodwin, Andy Flower (w), David Houghton, Sean Williams, Heath Streak (c), Andy Blignaut, Paul Strang, Eddo Brandes, Blessing Muzarabani
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Despite the series win, our batting has been worrying. Not enough people contributing to the total and creating something formidable. We have a lower order batting coach - who I still think shouldn't be there - but what about the rest of the lineup.
We can't expect to keep scraping by because of Richie and Blessing.
We can't expect to keep scraping by because of Richie and Blessing.
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ShareYeah its obvious there's still a fair few holes in the batting lineup, the worry though is I just can't see much in the way of alternatives on the horizon. I mean there's Naqvi obviously but nobody seems to know for sure when he's actually eligible, and MCampbell has been putting up decent numbers of recent times, but aside from that I'm drawing a blank on potential alternatives
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Quoted from eugene in post #45885
Quoted from admin in post #45882
Apologies for the outage
Some stuff went horribly wrong and the forum went down for a bit. Thankfully everything has been fixed (hopefully).
We were losing the match anyway. Winning matches without Blessing and Richie is always going to be difficult.
It still seems to take a long time for the forum to load, at least for me. I was getting concerned we were going to need a revival of the revival!
😂😂😂 we are safe for now.
The forum is taking longer than usual to load. I'm working on it.
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Delighted with the series win!
To repeat what has already been said, our batting still wasn't quite where it needs to be.
Brian Bennett didn't really get going this series, but he can be forgiven. He's done a lot for us recently and every player is entitled to the occasional quiet series.
Innocent Kaia did alright. He didn't post any big scores, but he showed plenty of fight and looked willing to dig in.
Craig Ervine looks to be nearing the end. He was bowled twice and nicked one behind in a brief, scratchy innings in the final ODI. It may be time to start planning for life after Ervine.
Clive Madande's last 10 scores:
1, 4, 2, 0, DNB, 5, 14, 26*, 0, 0
The numbers are shouting. I hope the selectors are listening.
My opinion of Wessly Madhevere has changed this series. It finally looks like he's beginning to turn his potential into runs. He threw his wicket away a couple of times, but his third ODI innings was excellent. If he can become consistent, the big hundreds will come.
Raza the batsman hasn't really shown up for a while.
Ben Curran is now averaging 52 in ODI cricket! That century in the second ODI was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Brad Evans' batting went up another level this series. I think we've got a genuine finisher on our hands. On current form, I'd have him batting ahead of both Madande and Raza.
To repeat what has already been said, our batting still wasn't quite where it needs to be.
Brian Bennett didn't really get going this series, but he can be forgiven. He's done a lot for us recently and every player is entitled to the occasional quiet series.
Innocent Kaia did alright. He didn't post any big scores, but he showed plenty of fight and looked willing to dig in.
Craig Ervine looks to be nearing the end. He was bowled twice and nicked one behind in a brief, scratchy innings in the final ODI. It may be time to start planning for life after Ervine.
Clive Madande's last 10 scores:
1, 4, 2, 0, DNB, 5, 14, 26*, 0, 0
The numbers are shouting. I hope the selectors are listening.
My opinion of Wessly Madhevere has changed this series. It finally looks like he's beginning to turn his potential into runs. He threw his wicket away a couple of times, but his third ODI innings was excellent. If he can become consistent, the big hundreds will come.
Raza the batsman hasn't really shown up for a while.
Ben Curran is now averaging 52 in ODI cricket! That century in the second ODI was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Brad Evans' batting went up another level this series. I think we've got a genuine finisher on our hands. On current form, I'd have him batting ahead of both Madande and Raza.
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ShareQuoted from zimbot in post #45894
Delighted with the series win!
To repeat what has already been said, our batting still wasn't quite where it needs to be.
Brian Bennett didn't really get going this series, but he can be forgiven. He's done a lot for us recently and every player is entitled to the occasional quiet series.
Innocent Kaia did alright. He didn't post any big scores, but he showed plenty of fight and looked willing to dig in.
Craig Ervine looks to be nearing the end. He was bowled twice and nicked one behind in a brief, scratchy innings in the final ODI. It may be time to start planning for life after Ervine.
Clive Madande's last 10 scores:
1, 4, 2, 0, DNB, 5, 14, 26*, 0, 0
The numbers are shouting. I hope the selectors are listening.
My opinion of Wessly Madhevere has changed this series. It finally looks like he's beginning to turn his potential into runs. He threw his wicket away a couple of times, but his third ODI innings was excellent. If he can become consistent, the big hundreds will come.
Raza the batsman hasn't really shown up for a while.
Ben Curran is now averaging 52 in ODI cricket! That century in the second ODI was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Brad Evans' batting went up another level this series. I think we've got a genuine finisher on our hands. On current form, I'd have him batting ahead of both Madande and Raza.
Bennett needs to be sent down to 4, imo. His lack of footwork is concerning, he can be fine on flat tracks, but on such ones, he can never score a run at the top. Kaia can open.
Evans needs to be at 8 though, I dont think its wise to send him up. For me, this would be the order:
1. Kaia
2. Curran
3. MCampbell
4. Bennett
5. Burl/Raza
6. Wes
7. Maru
8. Evans
9. Newman
10. Richie
11. Muza
Off-topic, but i feel Bennett is a throwback to Craig Wishart, what do you think?
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Quoted from dandy in post #45898
Quoted from zimbot in post #45894
Delighted with the series win!
To repeat what has already been said, our batting still wasn't quite where it needs to be.
Brian Bennett didn't really get going this series, but he can be forgiven. He's done a lot for us recently and every player is entitled to the occasional quiet series.
Innocent Kaia did alright. He didn't post any big scores, but he showed plenty of fight and looked willing to dig in.
Craig Ervine looks to be nearing the end. He was bowled twice and nicked one behind in a brief, scratchy innings in the final ODI. It may be time to start planning for life after Ervine.
Clive Madande's last 10 scores:
1, 4, 2, 0, DNB, 5, 14, 26*, 0, 0
The numbers are shouting. I hope the selectors are listening.
My opinion of Wessly Madhevere has changed this series. It finally looks like he's beginning to turn his potential into runs. He threw his wicket away a couple of times, but his third ODI innings was excellent. If he can become consistent, the big hundreds will come.
Raza the batsman hasn't really shown up for a while.
Ben Curran is now averaging 52 in ODI cricket! That century in the second ODI was an absolute pleasure to watch.
Brad Evans' batting went up another level this series. I think we've got a genuine finisher on our hands. On current form, I'd have him batting ahead of both Madande and Raza.
Bennett needs to be sent down to 4, imo. His lack of footwork is concerning, he can be fine on flat tracks, but on such ones, he can never score a run at the top. Kaia can open.
Evans needs to be at 8 though, I dont think its wise to send him up. For me, this would be the order:
1. Kaia
2. Curran
3. MCampbell
4. Bennett
5. Burl/Raza
6. Wes
7. Maru
8. Evans
9. Newman
10. Richie
11. Muza
Off-topic, but i feel Bennett is a throwback to Craig Wishart, what do you think?
This is my ideal lineup too, though I switch Burl/Raza with Wes. He needs bat at 5 to keep improving. Even Marumani I can make a case for him batting 6 and Burl as the finisher at 7 but not even innings to make judgement about that. One things for sure Ervine and Mandande have to be moved on.
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Quoted from dandy in post #45898
Off-topic, but i feel Bennett is a throwback to Craig Wishart, what do you think?
I don't remember much of Craig Wishart. I think his most notable innings was that 172* against Namibia in the 2003 world cup. I also vaguely remember him losing his stumps to a vicious Shane Bond in swinger in 2005. He had briefly returned after the whole rebel thing but he didn't stick around for long. He was ok, but struggled to perform consistently.
Brian Bennett is a much better player and should finish his career with better numbers.
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ShareQuoted from zimbot in post #45914
Brian Bennett is a much better player and should finish his career with better numbers.
Bennett is certainly better, but his technique somewhat reminded me of Wishart - minimal footwork with a tendency to slash the balls outside the off stump
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